Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Friday, January 07, 2011

Austrian filmmaker Micahel Haneke has the directorial ability to make stories visually so gentle and subtle, with an electric current right under your seat that sucks you down and completely unable to look away from the screen, even amidst static shots and almost complete silence. And it's that almost complete silence and desire to see what could possibly happen in a single frame that grabs you. He uses gorgeous sets, brilliant actors, and out of the ordinary scripts to make the whole story come to life in a way that you are actually experiencing it. Some traliers/clips of my favorite Haneke films:

CACHE (Hidden) with Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche illumiates the life of a small Parisian family whose unity and faith is disturbed as the threat of a stalker on their home, taping the front door, begins to surface at the husbands work and home. The intensity of the surveryor increases without any direct inflictions to the families physicallity, though mentally it is a challenge to make the right moves. Definietly keeps you on the edge of your seat!

The Piano Teacher is the most memorable Haneke film, in my opinion. From opening to finish you will not want to leave the room. The actors are absolutely amazing and the script is quite dark. The characters goals and morality are in question throughout, though not in a disgusting or horrific way, but because the subject matter is just so obvious and raw; such deap silences with some scenes completely bursting with desparate engery. Isabella Hupperts character is a woman so starved for some kind of adult love but due to such strong sexual repression, and with her domineering mother as a roommate, she has an extreme and slightly sadistic definition of love. In some ways her character is a fifty year old woman, and at other points a 5 year old girl. The last minute and a half are worth the rental alone. Really, an excellent, beautiful movie.

Time of the Wolf is one that I have not seen yet, though I have watched several clips and read a bit about it. Highly recommended by a film major friend from college, it is quite a hard one to find, though I will keep looking and hopefully be able to write something up about it soon. If you do happen to find it and watch it please fill me in, but don't give anything away!

In case you'd like to see the man behind the lens, here's and interview for your viewing pleasure...Haneke on parenting and other topics...

Sunday, January 02, 2011

Must sees:

$9.99. It's all done in stop motion, claymation, but for adults, or for whoever doesn't mind the artful grittiness of mature information and scenes. An interesting story line that centers around, and title is inspired by, a young man who purchases a book for just under $10 to seek the answers and reasons for life. I'd highly recommend it, based on it's original humor and storyline compared to other animation movies, some very interesting, trippy scenes, and a sincerely nice ending. But I warn you this isn't Gumby, it's a movie that follows several characters around in their quest for happiness, guidance, truth and love; and written in a way that is particularly effective in it's claymation style. It came out in 2008 so you should be able to pick it up at your local store.

Winter's Bone was the last movie I saw at my favorite, coziest theater in Boston. Though I was on my way to see Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work(gimme a break, she's hilarious), but it was sold out. I felt that I needed a comedy to lighten the mood, as I had been packing up my apartment all day. But the last open seat on the roster for that evening was Winter's Bone, and I had seen the trailer and was not too interested in subjecting myself to what I thought would be the depressing nature of this film. But I was oh-so-wrong. Well, it was still rather bleak, but Jennifer Lawrence (lead actress) plays her part so well, and with such strength and hope, especially considering what her character has to face, that the movie ended with such an honest and sincere summation it left a feeling of elevation. The scenes are just so subtle, but the script material is very heavy yet, like winter, it just slowly seeps into you without being force-fed overly emotional or graphic scenes.

The Kids Are All Right.

No, no, no, the movie! I'm talking about the movie that came out last year. With Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo (hello!). Great cast and fantastic acting and script. Totally a must-see for everybody. This movie focuses on a modern family, mid life crisis, and the exhaustion/awesomeness of teenage kids...while still maintaining a good sense of humor. I'd say
the Little Miss Sunshine(superb movie)of the year.